Sitting beneath a 200-year-old fig tree, where his latest restaurant in Bengaluru Bo-Tai nestles, Zorawar Kalra exudes a joie de vivre that sets the tone for our interaction.
Zorawar is in high spirits as he discusses his vision of Bo-Tai being a hub for good times. “Bo-Tai marries fine food with great night life. With fantastic Chinese and Thai food paired with cocktails curated by bartenders from London, patrons can expect high street pricing in a five-star hotel,” says Zorawar, with a gleeful glint in his eyes. “However, this tree is the biggest reason I chose this location.”
There is a youthful exuberance and passion about him as we discuss what makes him tick.
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“My favourite food in the world is always going to be Indian and Japanese,” he says, though he does admit to a fondness for burgers and bisi bele baath.
“There is something amazing about Indian food. Look at its diversity. Every state, every region has its own distinct flavour and style, it is unbelievable! Even something as basic as dal-chawal has over 50 variations across India!”
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“No matter wherever you go in the world, you want to come back home and enjoy Indian food,” he says.
He may be a jet-setting restaurateur, but Zorawar is a family man at heart. He says, “My children are my absolute, number one passion, my biggest stress busters,” he says and his eyes shine with pride as he relates the antics of his son and daughter.
By his own admission, Zorawar says he is a tech freak who enjoys building PCs. “I like to customise their aesthetics, using a lot of RGB lighting, the best glass casing, hardware etc.”
He also enjoys racing cars. “However, with my work load it has taken a back seat,” he says rather ruefully.
Our conversation veers towards books. “I am not a big reader,” he admits, though he is currently reading The Mindset . “It is about how a positive mindset effects and puts into motion events that manifest what you are working towards.”
Topics like gravity, time, Mars and constants bring us to one of his favourite movies - Interstellar . “In the movie, the actor is on that planet for a few minutes, but on earth over 70 years have passed – a perfect example of how time is not constant,” he says.
Not surprisingly, Zorawar excelled in physics while at school. “Though I hated chemistry, especially molecular chemistry, I may be running the most molecular restaurants in the country,” he laughs.
Zorawar who has a keen interest in documentaries, also enjoys watching all sports, including rather unusual ones like rugby.
Despite a year, beset with personal tragedies — the loss of his father and his childhood friend — there has been good news too. “Farzi Café, our restaurant in London, was mentioned in the Michelin guide,” he says with obvious pride; no small feat for a restaurant which was only launched in January this year.